Wrist-type blood pressure meter

ABSTRACT

A wrist-type blood pressure meter for measuring blood pressure and heart rate of a person and displaying the measurement reading with segmented screens showing numeric figures and graphical plot. It has memory module and fingerprint module allowing more than one user to store and retrieve measurement readings according to time sequence and calculate average readings.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Applic. No.61/018,903, filed Jan. 4, 2008, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to a blood pressure meter. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a wrist-type blood pressure meterwith multi-screens graphical display.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a conventional electronic blood pressure meter, there is displaymeans displaying the measured blood pressure. However, the users oftenneed to refer to the instruction booklet or have to familiarizethemselves with the meaning of the blood pressure readings to understandthe meaning thereof. The numbering of the blood pressure readings alonemay not be good enough. Further, as blood pressure problem becoming morecommon among people, there is a greater likelihood that more than oneuser is using one same blood pressure meter in a family. Accordingly, itis vital to be able to allow more than one user to read the results ofmeasurement over a number of tracked blood pressure readings.

Several U.S. patents and patent publications disclose blood pressuremonitors for measuring and displaying the readings. Examples of thesereferences include Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha, U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,412 andOmron Corporation, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,687,732 and 6,547,741.

Each of these blood pressure monitors measures a user's blood pressure.The blood pressure monitors also generally include a display fordisplaying the blood pressure measurement readings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The wrist-type blood pressure meter with multi-screens graphical displayis used to measure a user's systolic pressure, diastolic pressure andheart rate measurement. More than one user identifies herself byfingerprints and accordingly reads and stores her blood pressuremeasurement readings respectively. The wrist-type blood pressure meterhas more than one LCD display visualizing the blood pressure measurementreading in easy-to-read figures and graphical plot. The wrist-type bloodpressure meter also alerts the user by giving visual and audible warningwhen false measurement reading is detected.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a wrist-type blood pressure meter according toan embodiment of the invention that is adapted for comprising dualdisplays.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the wrist-type blood pressure meter of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of aspects of the wrist-type blood pressuremeter.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating operation of the wrist-type bloodpressure meter.

FIG. 5 is a LCD display of the wrist-type blood pressure meter showingnumeric and symbolic figures;

FIGS. 6 a, 6 b, 6 c and 6 d and are displays of the wrist-type bloodpressure meter showing graphical output of blood pressure reading in aseries of symbols showing systolic pressure, diastolic pressure and overlimit pressure respectively.

FIGS. 7 a, 7 b, 7 c, 7 d, 7 e, 7 f and 7 g illustrates variousmeasurement readings of the LCD display of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention is a wrist-type blood pressure meter 10, as illustrated at10 in the Figures. The wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 therebyfacilitates providing measurement of blood pressure, heart ratevariability, date and time display and display of measurement readingrecords. It further detects and alerts the user of measurement error.The wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 accommodate more than one userand each user identifies herself by fingerprint.

The wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 generally includes an outerenclosure 18 in which the components of the wrist-type blood pressuremeter 10 are contained. The outer enclosure 18 may be fabricated from avariety of materials depending on the desired appearance of thewrist-type blood pressure meter 10 and the conditions under which thewrist-type blood pressure meter 10 is to be used. In one configuration,the outer enclosure 18 is fabricated from injection molded plastic. Inthe preferred embodiment, the wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 furtherincludes a cuff 16 which is firmly attached to the outer enclosure 18and encircling the wrist of the user. Cuff 16 is adapted to encircle thewrist and to be adjustable to fit different circumferences of the wristsof each user with a hook-and-loop fastener (not shown) or alternativelywith elastic materials of a circumference typically smaller than thecircumference of wrists of different users.

A user button 20 may occupy a relatively small portion of at least onesurface of the outer enclosure 18 to allow the user to depress the userbutton 20 for fingerprint recognition mechanism. The fingerprintrecognition mechanism is known. The user button incorporating thefingerprint recognition mechanism allows a multiple of users to store,retrieve and read their own measurement readings record.

A start/stop button 22 may also be provided on the outer enclosure 18.The start/stop button 22 may be disposed at the other proximal edge ofthe user button 20.

Inside of the outer enclosure 18 components necessary for the operationof the wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 are located. The componentsmay include a microprocessor, a blood pressure measuring device, a ECGleads device measuring heart rate variability, an air cuff sensor, asound generation device, more than one LCD display with light emissiondisplay device, a date and timer device, a measurement error detectiondevice, a fingerprint sensor, a calculation device and a memory device.In one embodiment, the LCD with light emission display device is asegmented dual display, wherein the first display shows the measurementdata in numeric figures and symbols and the second display showingmeasurement reading in graphical plots.

In one embodiment, the sound generation device is a speaker. In oneembodiment, the measurement error detection device is adapted to detectand send electronic signals to the microprocessor upon detection offailure to measure blood pressure or heart rate, air leakage in the aircuff, cuff loose, user body movement error and measurement reading above260 mmHg. In one embodiment, the memory device is capable of storing andretrieving of measurement readings of a multiple of users. In oneembodiment, the calculation device is adapted to calculate the averagevalue of the last three measurement readings of a selected user and sendsuch average value to the microprocessor and then the LCD display fordisplaying. To enhance the mobility of the wrist-type blood pressuremeter 10, the components of the wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 maybe powered by battery. The wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 mayinclude the ability to recharge the battery. The LCD display is adaptedto show battery warning 26 upon receiving electronic signal from themicroprocessor of low power.

In one embodiment, the user may select blood pressure display unit inmmHg and kpa.

The wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 is adaptable to attachment to theuser using a variety of configurations. An important criterion would bethat the method of attaching the wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 tothe user's wrist is that the attachment mechanism enables firmattachment, thus stable measurement, to the user's wrist, as loosecuffing could lead to false measurement by the wrist-type blood pressuremeter 10.

One particular configurations include encircling on a user's wrist andfirmly attaching to the user's wrist by a hook-and-loop fastener (notshown) or alternatively with elastic materials of a circumferencetypically smaller than the circumference of wrists of different users.In operation, the wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 is enabled byattaching the wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 to a user's wrist usingone of the mechanisms set forth above. Further or alternatively, thehook-and-loop fastener or the attachment element, e.g. an arm cuff, isadapted to fit the user's arm such that the blood pressure meter 10 canbe used to encircle the user's arm as an arm-type blood pressure meter.

An operation flow diagram for the wrist-type blood pressure meter isillustrated in FIG. 4. The wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 maymeasure systolic pressure, diastolic pressure and/or heart ratevariability of the user using the wrist-type blood pressure meter 10.For example, the wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 may be activated ifthe user presses the start/stop button 22 and presses the user button 20identifying herself whereby the microprocessor selects the correspondingmemory unit assigned to such user. In one embodiment, the user button isadapted to include a fingerprint sensor which recognizes the fingerprintof each user.

Alternatively or additionally, the wrist-type blood pressure meter 10may also start measurement when presses the start/stop button 22. Themeasurement reading will be automatically shown and saved as themeasurement reading of User 1.

In operation, the wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 is enabled byattaching the wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 to a user's wrist usingone of the mechanisms set forth above. When a user presses thestart/stop button 22, the wrist-type blood pressure meter 10automatically start measurement of a user's blood pressure and heartrate. In one configuration the measurement reading is automaticallysaved to User 1's memory unit. Alternatively, the user may press theuser button 20 before or immediately after the measurement tointerchangeably select the other user identity. Alternatively, thefingerprint sensor is disposed at the start/stop button 22 and/or theuser button 20, the microprocessor receives electronic signal from thefingerprint sensor and selects the corresponding user identification andmemory unit for saving and retrieval of the measurement reading of theselected user. The wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 then update themeasurement reading records in the memory unit and display themeasurement reading in numeric fashion (as shown in FIG. 7) andgraphical plot pattern (as demonstrated in FIG. 6).

The sounds alarm, further and/or alternatively be accompanied by a lightdisplayed on the wrist-type blood pressure meter 10, is activated upondetecting measurement errors, such as failure to obtain electronicsignals of measurement reading or pressure reading over a pre-determinedlevel, e.g. 260 mmHg. The sensor in air cuff is adapted to detect airleakage and cuff loose. Other error sensor may also be added, such assensor to detect user body movement when measuring. The light can begenerated from a variety of sources, utilizes a variety of colors and bedisplayed in a variety of patterns. One suitable light source is a redLED. One suitable display pattern is flashing to attract more attentionto the light.

The wrist-type blood pressure meter 10 may be configured such that themeasurement reading is timed and dated. The memory unit records the timeand date of the measurement reading. The display unit shows themeasurement reading with time and date 60. Further, a calculation unitis adapted to calculate an average value of the measurement readings ofa pre-determined number of records. The user may retrieve the records ofmeasurement reading and average value thereof by momentarily pressingthe memory button 24.

FIG. 7 a illustrates the LCD display in one embodiment where the lowbattery icon 26 is on indicating low battery. FIG. 7 b illustrates anexample when the measurement is conducting and the increasingmeasurement pressure is indicated by the level of 160 mmHg 30 and by anup arrow 28. FIG. 7 c illustrates an example when the measurement isconducting and the decreasing measurement pressure is indicated by thelevel of 90 mmHg 32 and by a down arrow 34. FIG. 7 d illustrates anexample of numeric display of measurement reading of User 1 40 wheresystolic pressure is 128 mmHg 36 and the diastolic pressure is 81 mmHg38 and the heart rate is 73 42. FIG. 7 e illustrates an example ofshowing the average value of selected recorded heart rate at 78. FIG. 7f illustrates an example of showing a 44th old record 46 of measurementreadings. FIG. 7 g illustrates an example of showing the measurementreading of user 2 48.

FIG. 6 a illustrates the second LCD display in one embodiment where themeasurement reading of blood pressure is represented in graphical plotpattern having the pressure range of 50 mmHg at the lowest and 205 mmHgat the highest along its vertical axis and sequence of time ofmeasurement whereby the oldest record on the right and the latest recordon the left along its horizontal axis. In preferred embodiment, thevertical axis is divided into 64 units (R1-R64) and each unit (row pixelon display) represents 2.5 mmHg. 50 mmHg 50 therefore positions at thelevel of R63. 205 mmHg 52 positions at the level of R1. The horizontalaxis is divided into 132 units (C1-C132) and the calculator devicedivides the number of available records by 132 and thereby distributingthe corresponding measurement readings over the 132 units along thehorizontal axis. In the example of 44 available recorded measurementreadings, the latest measurement reading is therefore positioned in theregion of C1-C3, the second latest measurement reading is positioned inthe region of C4-C6 and the 44^(th) measurement reading is positioned inthe region of C130-C132. FIG. 6 b illustrates the graphical presentationof systolic pressure. FIG. 6 c illustrates the graphical presentation ofdiastolic pressure. FIG. 6 d illustrates the graphical presentation ofthe readings outside pre-determined ranges of pressure.

Alternatively or additionally, three pre-set lines are disposed on thetransparent cover of the second display of graphical plot. One red lineis at the level of 180 mmHg 54. Two yellow lines are at the respectivelevels of 140 mmHg 56 and 90 mmHg 58. Such lines are for indicating thenormal and abnormal blood pressure level. Alternatively, the lines areadapted to be subject to user's change and flexibly disposed on thesecond display screen.

In the preferred embodiment, when the first display is displaying ameasurement reading, the corresponding portion of graphical plots of thesame measurement reading is adapted to be flashing or alternatively, ina different color. The user may easily find reference of her track andtrend of a selected measurement reading.

It is contemplated that features disclosed in this application, as wellas those described in the above applications incorporated by reference,can be mixed and matched to suit particular circumstances. Various othermodifications and changes will be apparent to those of ordinary skill.

1. A wrist-type blood pressure meter comprising: a microprocessormodule; a screen module, wherein the screen comprises at least twodisplays visualizing measurement readings of systolic pressure,diastolic pressure and pulse rate in numeric figures and graphical plotand the screen module is operably connected to the microprocessormodule; a user identity module for selecting the user identity and thecorresponding historical measurement readings records, wherein the useridentity module is operably connected to the microprocessor module; anouter enclosure; an air cuff attached to a lower wall of the outerenclosure; an operation module, wherein the operation module is operablyconnected to the microprocessor module and comprises a start/stop buttonon one side of an upper wall of the outer enclosure and a memory buttonand an user selection button on the other side of an upper wall of theouter enclosure; a blood pressure measuring module, wherein the bloodpressure measuring module is operably connected to the microprocessormodule; a ECG leads module for measuring heart rate variability, whereinthe ECG leads module is operably connected to the microprocessor module;and a line indication module for indicating normal and abnormal bloodpressure, wherein the indication lines are disposed on one displaydisplaying graphical plot.
 2. The wrist-type blood pressure meter ofclaim 1, and further comprising a memory module that is operablyconnected to the microprocessor module.
 3. The wrist-type blood pressuremeter of claim 1, and further comprising a timer module that is operablyconnected to the microprocessor module.
 4. The wrist-type blood pressuremeter of claim 1, and further comprising an alert module that isoperably connected to the microprocessor module.
 5. The wrist-type bloodpressure meter of claim 1, and further comprising a battery module. 6.The wrist-type blood pressure meter of claim 4, wherein the alert moduleis capable of transmitting visual and audible warning when havingdetected error measurement.
 7. The wrist-type blood pressure meter ofclaim 1, wherein the user identity module determines user identity byfingerprint, the fingerprint sensor being disposed on at least onebutton of the operation module.
 8. The wrist-type blood pressure meterof claim 1, wherein the attaching means for attaching the air cuff is ahook-and-loop fastener.
 9. The wrist-type blood pressure meter of claim1, wherein the attaching means for attaching the air cuff is elasticmaterials of a circumference.
 10. The wrist-type blood pressure meter ofclaim 1, and further comprising a sensor detecting air leakage and cuffloose.
 11. A method of measuring blood pressure and heart rate of aperson using a wrist-type blood pressure meter, wherein the methodcomprises: encircling a wrist-type blood pressure meter to a person'swrist whose blood pressure and heart rate is to be measured; pressing astart button on the wrist-type blood pressure meter, wherein the startbutton is operably connected to the microprocessor module; measuring theblood pressure and heart rate of the person with a blood pressuremeasuring module and a ECG leads module, wherein the blood pressuremeasuring module and the ECG leads module is operably connected to themicroprocessor module; and displaying the measurement reading in numericfigures and graphical plot with a screen module comprising at least twodisplays, wherein the screen module is operably connected to themicroprocessor module.
 12. The method of claim 11, and further storingand retrieving data relating to historical measurement reading recordsin a memory module, wherein the memory module is operably connected tothe microprocessor module.
 13. The method of claim 11, and furthercomprising time and date of measurement.
 14. The method of claim 11,wherein one display of the screen module has its vertical axis beingdivided into 64 units and each unit representing 2.5 mmHg and itshorizontal axis being divided into 132 units and each three unitsindicating one measurement reading record, the oldest measurementreading record on the right and the latest record on the left therebyshowing the time sequence of measurement reading records.
 15. The methodof claim 14, wherein the latest record is adapted to be flashing or inone color different from the color of older records which guide a userto the latest record.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the screenmodule shows the measurement readings in the blood pressure display unitin kpa.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the alert module upondetecting the measurement reading is above 260 mmHg initiates an alertcomprises visual and audible warning indicating error measurement. 18.The method of claim 11, wherein the alert module upon detecting airleakage and cuff loose initiates an alert comprises visual and audiblewarning indicating air leakage and cuff loose.
 19. The method of claim11, wherein further displaying systolic values by upward symbol,diastolic values by downward symbol and over limit readings by a crosssymbol.
 20. The method of claim 11, wherein the screen module furthercomprises three pre-set lines, disposed on a transparent cover of onedisplay displaying graphical plot, indicate the normal and abnormalblood pressure level; the first line in one color is at the level of 180mmHg, indicating any measurement reading above the first line is in thearea of abnormal high blood pressure; the second line and the third linein another color are at the level of 140 mmHg and 90 mmHg respectively,indicating any measurement reading between the two lines is in the areaof normal blood pressure.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the threelines are adapted to be subject to the adjustment.
 22. The method ofclaim 11, and further recognizing a person's fingerprint with thefingerprint module, wherein the fingerprint module is operably connectedto the microprocessor module and is capable of selecting at least twousers' identities and the corresponding memory units.
 23. The method ofclaim 11, and further comprising timing the measurements; recording themeasurement time and date; storing the measurement readings; andcalculating the average value of the measurement readings.
 24. Themethod of claim 23, and further comprising retrieving and displaying thehistorical measurement reading records with time and date and theaverage value of the measurement readings.